


Possession

by AmberDread



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Blood, Demon Kylo Ren, Demons, Exorcism, F/M, Fluff, Halloween is coming!, I Don't Even Know, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I made shit up, Magic, Maybe - Freeform, Non-Consensual Kissing, Possession, Rituals, Violence, Witch Rey, exorcist Rey, meant to be scary but probably isn't, no beta we die like men, this fic has a certain lack of geese, threatening behaviour
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-25
Updated: 2019-10-09
Packaged: 2020-10-28 06:24:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20774003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmberDread/pseuds/AmberDread
Summary: Rey is the only non affiliated exorcist in the South East. She's good at what she does, but her next exorcism will test her to breaking point...(Once again, I suck at summaries.)





	1. Chapter 1

It was a beautiful September morning. One of those ones where the sun is high and bright but the air is cold, carrying the scent of thinner, cooler air that the heat of summer has denied.

Rey loved the summer, the scorching kiss of heat on her skin and the warm nights sitting out in her garden drinking wine with her friends… but this summer had been oppressive, the temperature constantly high and the heavy air uncharastically humid for England. 

So she smiled as she left her little flat, taking a deep lungful of the delicious air as she shrugged into her biker jacket.

Rey had two jobs, her main employment was at Ad Lucem, a second hand book and curio shop, specialising in occult and esoteric items, though it stocked plenty of other items and genres of books too.

Today however, she was in her other role, as an exorcist. It was her true vocation really, but most people who needed her kind of help went to the church or other religions first. As far as she was aware, she was the only non-christian exorcist available in her region; though that didn’t mean it was gainful employment. That was besides the point though, she didn’t do it for the money, she did it because she liked helping people. If she had been able to, she wouldn’t ask for a fee at all... But a girl has to eat and so does her cat.

It wasn’t unusual for people to contact her as a prank, but she had a certain feeling that today’s appointment was genuine. 

The woman who had contacted her was called Leia, a mother who was afraid for her son. Child exorcisms tended to be distressing but easier than adult ones- there was less of a foothold for evil to cling to in the mind of an innocent.

Nevertheless, Rey had packed her usual supplies - in these situations, care was always needed and an over-confident exorcist was destined for a fall; a nasty one, which sometimes proved to be permanent.

When she pulled up at the address Leia had emailed her, she had to pause for a moment, her shocked expression hidden by her helmet. She had been vaguely aware that Tongdean was an expensive area, but the gated driveway and the glimpse of the house beyond it, looked rather intimidating.

One of the white pillars housing the gate had a slate plaque with Alderaan House engraved on it, so she was at the right place.

Taking a deep breath, she pulled off her helmet and wheeled her now quiet bike over to the intercom and rang the bell.

There was a brief pause, then a slightly crackly voice said, “Hello?”

“Hi, my name’s Kira, I have an appointment with Leia at eleven,” Rey had found people hated it when you told them the exorcist had arrived.

“Leia?” the voice sounded shocked, then, “Ah, yes, Lady Solo is expecting you. Please park your vehicle by the garages. ” 

The person put heavy emphasis on  _ Lady _ , but it wasn’t like Rey had known. Still, it made her a little anxious - she’d never met a real Lady before.

The gates swung open silently, it was slightly creepy. Shaking her head a little at herself, she decided against riding and instead she wheeled her bike through.

The house was beautiful, painted white with big windows and surrounded by a lush green lawn enclosed with an abundance of large trees and bushes. 

It was quiet, so much so it almost felt like you were out of the city... but despite the idyllic setting Rey’s skin prickled the closer she got to the house, a subtle warning.

A man in a uniform was already waiting by the front door, he watched her with a disapproving gaze on his thin lipped face as she propped up her bike.

Just before she reached him, a woman stepped through the door behind him. She looked elegant in a green knit dress with a draped tweed cardigan resting on her shoulders, her grey hair was in an elegant updo, but her eyes were tired and her shoulders looked as though they bore a heavy burden.

“Kira? From  _ Dan nan galad _ ?”

Nodding, Rey pulled one of her gloves off and held out her hand, “Hi, yes.” 

“I’m Leia,” her fingers were cold in Rey’s as they briefly shook hands. “Please, come inside. Threepio, would you take Kira’s jacket and helmet?” Leia turned back to Rey who handed the man her helmet and shrugged out of her jacket, “Do you want to see Ben now? Or should we talk first?” 

Ignoring the opulence of the home she’d walked into, and thanking the light that her boots were clean, Rey shook her head, “If you don’t mind, I’d like to see him first, so I can get an unbiased feel for what’s happening. Then, if you still wish to go ahead, you can fill me in on the details.”

There was a slight huff of derision from Threepio, but she was used to that sort of thing and ignored it.

Leia nodded, clearly anxious and Rey reached out and gently clasped her hand again, “I can promise nothing, but I assure you that I will do what I can for your son.”

Leia smiled slightly and squeezed her fingers, “I appreciate your honestly, the priest before you was not.” She sighed, “Please, follow me and I’ll take you to his room.”

Keeping hold of her bag, Rey followed Leia up a wide, curving staircase with a feature stained glass window that cast all it touched in a wash of abstract greens and blues.

As they climbed, the crackle over her skin increased, disquiet prickling in her fingertips and raising the hairs on the back of her neck and along her arms. 

It wasn’t a good sign.

As they made their way along a landing, dark because all the doors were shut, she could feel the air warm the closer they got to the end door.

Sound seemed to fall away; the unnatural silence was unusual if this really was a possession.

“Ben is in here,” Leia stopped hesitantly by the door without opening it, speaking softly and clearly uneasy, “Should I go in with you?”

Shaking her head, Rey patted her on the arm, “That isn’t necessary, but if you want to, of course.”

With a pained grimace, Leia shook her head, “I will wait for you there,” she inclined her head to a door back near the stairs, “I’ll leave the door open.” 

And with another conflicted look, she turned and left Rey at the door.

After taking in three, deep cleansing breaths, Rey put her hand on the door knob, hissing slightly at the hum of energy at the touch, before opening the door.

The room was dark, the air heavy and too warm, there was the barest outline of light from what must be blackout blinds, and two dimly lit lamps on either side of a large bed, clothed in black.

Perhaps Rey should have realised before now, but Leia’s son wasn’t a child or teenager, he was a man. For some reason she hadn’t put two and two together.

Another thing that surprised her, was that he was physically  _ tied _ to his bed.

She had never seen anything like this apart from in horror movies. If the warnings hadn’t been there, she may have thought this was a prank or secret camera show.

At first, the man didn’t move, just lay still as if asleep, chest rising and falling only barely. Most of his chest down to his ankles was covered by a thin blanket, his wrists and ankles were bound with sturdy looking leather cuffs, linked by chain to leather holders attached to the bedposts.

She couldn’t make out much of his face yet, save for it was pale and surrounded by long, dark hair.

When she went to shut the door softly behind her, she paused, then decided against it. One of the best pieces of advice she had ever been given, was  _ always trust your gut,  _ even if your instincts may seem foolish or not make sense at the time, it was best to trust them.

Leaving the door ajar, she walked softly over to the bed. The closer she got, the more her body reacted. Something like the fight or flight instinct, but whenever a sensitive human is confronted by evil, the instinct always errs towards flight.

Cold skin, prickling extremities, nausea, sweating, tensing muscles, increased heart rate, dry mouth; she knew all the symptoms, had learned to counteract and deal with most of them, but even so, there was something in this room that was very, very wrong.

A soft sigh came from the bed as she stopped three paces away and his head turned towards her.

As soon as her eyes picked out his in the darkness, her body relaxed slightly, which made her frown in surprise - why did he seem normal?

“Who are you?” the voice was deep and gravelly, the sort of rasp that constant screaming will create.

“You can call me Kira,” she said gently as she studied him.

His eyes came further awake and he sat up as much as he could with his wrists shackled, as his voice turned urgent, “Please, you have to help me, my parents, they locked me up,” his haunted eyes held hers, real panic in them, “They won’t let me go, you have to help me or call the police!”

As he propped himself up, the blanket slid down his chest, exposing huge, pale muscles that belonged on a gladiator... and black runes on his sternum.

Rey resisted taking a step back, “I am here to help you Ben, but to do that,” she licked her dry lips, “I need to speak to your passenger.”

After a brief look of confusion, Ben’s face changed, features shifting slightly into something else, and a soft, menacing chuckle escaped his lips as his now hooded dark eyes took on a red sheen. The lamp light flickered, even barely heard distant sounds disappeared, as if they were in a vacuum. 

Rey quietly swallowed down bile and met these new eyes, her hand gripping a white rune stone in her pocket, rolling it between her fingers.

“Kiiiiiiraaaaa,” his low whisper was almost a purr, “Come here, to me, Kiiiiraaa.”

Rey smiled slightly despite the way her body was trying to revolt, “Are you open to negotiations or shall we do this the hard way?”

The smug, arrogant caste to his face fell a little, and he cocked his head as his eyes assessed her again, “Little girls that tell little lies often get a nasty surprise.” 

Rey could feel his gaze crawling over her body and resisted the urge to shudder, “The hard way it is.”

“Tell me your name, little girl, and I will give you mine,” he leaned forward as far as the restraints would let him, straining against them without changing expression.

Ignoring him, she reached out her left palm till it was just inches away from his skin, and closed her eyes.

Darkness roiled behind her lids and around her, she could hear him crooning in  _ siqsa rirza _ , his words sliding against her skin like sick silk. 

Ducking her chin so her nose was closer to the amulet at her neck, she breathed in the combined scents of salt, sage and frankincense. The cleansing scent helped her disregard his words as she pushed her Light out of her palm and towards his skin.

There was a loud hiss, then a furious roar and she opened her eyes and stepped backwards just in time as he snapped his teeth, somehow having managed to stretch the restraints a little.

She noticed, with not a little alarm, that his teeth were elongated and wisps of vapour curled away from a small red mark near his collarbone. The vapour was not unheard of, but being able to change the corporeal body was rare.

“You have the Light in you,” his deep voice had gotten lower, “Come here and let me snuff it out.” A tongue that was too long slipped past his full lips as he gazed at her hungrily. “Give yourself to me, and you will know pleasure and power beyond your comprehension.” 

A slight shiver went through her and Rey felt heat bloom between her legs. 

_ That _ had never happened before.

He seemed to notice, his eyes pinning her as his lips curved slowly upward, “Come a little closer and I will give you a taste.”

Power dripped from his words like acid and her eyes fluttered shut, she couldn’t seem to stop them, nor her feet, as they took a shuffling step forward.

“That’s it,” he drawled almost languidly, “One taste of ecstasy is all you’ll need.” She was close enough to feel the stifling heat of his skin, to smell a sweet yet smoky scent like honey and fire. “Touch me.” Trancelike, she slowly reached out her hand once more, “Yes,  _ yessssss _ .”

And just before her skin made contact with his, the runestone held in her other hand, sharply pricked her finger.

With a horrified gasp, Rey lurched backwards, eyes wide and heart punching almost painfully against her ribs as her limbs trembled.

“So close,” he whispered, almost to himself, “But so strong,” he cocked his head again, “Why do you resist?” He smiled, “The others before you did not,” he gestured to the runes on Ben’s chest, “And neither did he. I have a bargain with him, you have no authority here.” he narrowed his eyes at her, “You know I could give you  _ whatever _ you want.”

Rey shook her head, “I don’t want anything you could give me.”

Another smile, it’s sinful quality made her stomach flip, “You and I both know that is not entirely true,” he closed his eyes as he took a deep breath in, “I can taste the desire on your skin, your body has needs that aren’t being met.”

It was definitely time to shut this down. Taking out her phone, she snapped a quick picture of his chest rune before he could move, then turned and quickly left the room, shutting the door behind her.

Maniacal laughter followed her as she retreated down the hall to Leia’s door and pushed it fully open.

Leia was seated on a small gold silk sofa, posture rigid as she gazed out of a floor length window, a tray of tea on an intricately carved teak table in front of her.

She turned as Rey came in and gestured to a matching armchair across from her, “Would you like tea?”

Rey nodded as she sat down, “Yes please, milk and two sugars if you have it.”

The tea came in a fine bone china tea cup, decorated in blue and green vines, and Rey gratefully took a large sip, eager to wet her dry lips.

“Is it done?” Leia asked doubtfully as Rey took another sip of sugary goodness.

“That was just the preliminary meeting, I’m afraid,” Rey answered, suddenly feeling weary. She looked at Leia and held her gaze, “Whatever has your son in thrall is strong,” she paused, then decided Leia had a right to know, “And was invited.”

“Invited?” Leia echoed in a bewildered tone.

Rey nodded gravely, “Yes,” she hesitated again, before asking, “Do you have any idea why or how your son would do something like this?”

Leia shook her head slowly.

“If you would like me to continue helping you, I’m afraid I will need to do some research first,” she dug out her phone and showed Leia the picture of the runes, “Do you remember when you first saw these marks?”

Frowning, Leia studied the picture briefly before looking back up at Rey, “That’s just a tattoo isn’t it?”

“Unfortunately not,” Rey said seriously, “It is called a Tether-mark, and I need to identify its maker before I can help free Ben,” she chewed her lips, then said very gently, “If he wants me to.”

Leia’s expressioned sharpened, “What does that mean?”

Taking a breath, Rey explained, “If he invited something in, he may not want to be rid of it. Usually people don’t realise what they are getting themselves into, but sometimes...” she looked for the least insulting words she could, “Sometimes they do, or decide that they still want the connection.”

Before Leia could respond, there was a scream, they both flinched, glancing towards the doorway. There were words in that cry, but nothing recognisable. 

“Sometimes I think about just letting him go,” Leia murmured, almost too quietly to hear over the shrieks of her son, “That’s what his father suggested right before he left us… but then I worry about what Ben may do, to himself and to others… he frightens me.” The last was said as a confession, guilt clearly writ across her worn features. 

“I’m sorry, but letting him go would be a terrible idea,” Rey answered frankly.

Just after she finished speaking, the screams cut off and Leia flinched again. Rey dug in her bag and pulled out a cloth pouch, inside were amulets like her own and she handed two to Leia.

“One is for you and one for your,”  _ was the man at the door a servant? _ “For Threepio. Wear them all the time, unless bathing, then hang them on the door handle.” She rummaged again and came up with cloth sachets, and gave Leia two of those as well, “Sleep with one of these under your pillows. Hopefully it will mean you can rest a little easier and stave off bad dreams. I can come back tomorrow or Friday, if you would like? Dawn would be best for something like this.”

She watched as Leia pulled the amulet over her head and sat back on the sofa, her fingers reflexively stroking the metal cage as she studied Rey.

“You’ve already stayed in his room longer than anyone else and haven’t come out changed,” she said quietly, “I find myself trusting you, more than the men of a god I’ve never believed in,” her gaze turned shrewd, “For two visits, I assume your fee will double?”

Doing her best not to look insulted, Rey shook her head, “It’s a flat rate, one exorsism, one fee, and only if I am successful.”

Leia smiled a little, and Rey realised that underneath the strain, she was regally beautiful, “I’m sorry if I offended you, Kira. Priests, it appears, are very greedy.” 

“So I have heard,” Rey answered with a smile, a look out the window showed her it was later than she had thought, “Would it be okay if we say Friday? I want to make sure I have enough time to prepare.”

“At dawn?” Leia asked hopefully.

“Yes. I know it may be difficult, but it would help if you do not let him eat anything after 6pm tomorrow and just give him water to drink.”

“Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

Rey’s wide eyes met Leia’s.

“Coooommmme and plaaaaaaay, Kiiiiiiiirrrrrraaaaaaaaaa!”

“He hasn’t done that before,” Leia whispered in a shaky voice.

Rey could feel a blush spreading up all the way from her decolletage to her hair roots. 

She stood, “I had better go, I don’t want to provoke him further.”

Leia stood too and Rey slung her bag over her back, then handed Leia a card with her mobile number on, “If you have any concerns before Friday, please don’t hesitate to call me, day or night.”

“Thank you, Kira,” Leia smiled a little then winced as her sons voice echoed her, “I’ll show you out and get Threepio to bring your things.”

Rey rode home slowly. Normally she ignored the speed limits and zipped in and out of traffic but she was still feeling slightly shaky, and Ben’s voice was echoing in her head. 

She was doubly glad she used an alias on her website and anywhere she advertised - in a profession like this, your true name could be a weapon in the mouth of an enemy,  _ or _ just lead to people graffiting your front door and shouting abuse through your letterbox to scare your cat.

When she got home, before doing anything else, she stripped off and jumped in the shower, using a body wash made with frankincense and lavender to cleanse the taint off her skin.

Ignoring Midna, her black cat who was insisting her tuna sandwich was actually hers, Rey had a late lunch in the patch of sunshine lingering in her garden, sitting on a slightly rusty chair at a very rusty table while she breathed in the fresh air and let the sun warm her skin.

When she was finished and Midna was reproachfully licking the plate, Rey looked through her Book of Shadows, going straight to the Rune section.

The book was heavy and old, thick with history and memory, the faded, pock marked leather binding it was indistinguishable now, but the delicate, worn, tea-coloured pages were much better preserved, charmed against wear.

The title page was covered in dark spots, the blood of the women who had come before her, as well as her own. As usual, a hum of welcome met her fingertips when they carefully turned pages, the recognition still making her smile even now, just over ten years after she made her mark on her thirteenth birthday.

It was the only inheritance she got from her mother, the only connection to a woman who she only vaguely remembered. 

The book left her with more questions than answers, but the truth it did reveal was more important than anything else she needed to know: she was dealing with a demon not a spirit or a demigod.

The sun disappeared behind the house and the air turned too cold to sit comfortably anymore. Midna had already disappeared, probably terrorising the dog who lived next door - she was a good companion to Rey but to every other being she was an absolute menace. At least the little silver bell on her collar made hunting difficult, Midna still brought her presents, but they were never dead things now, just feathers, leaves and sometimes things she’d obviously stolen from someone’s house or garden. 

The gifts of leaves and feathers Rey kept, pinning them to a corkboard in a sort of collage, the other things she attempted to return to their owners.

Still feeling a little out of sorts, despite the comforting hour with the Book of Shadows, she decided now would be a good time to refresh her salt wardings. She hovered up what remained of the previous ones, before sprinkling more salt in the corners of every room and along the threshold of the front and back doors. 

This naturally led to her re-smudging, realising that over the summer she had let the energy of her home lapse a little. 

Her cramped bedroom had a single bed, small wardrobe and drawers and her chest. The chest was large and a little battered, made from yew and wrought iron. It was where her Book of Shadows lived, along with other tools of her trade.

Inside she found a few ready made smudge-sticks - small bundles of dried sage and lavender, bound together. Taking out one, along with an abalone shell and a fan made with some of Midna’s gifts, and after taking her smoke alarm down and hiding it in her bed, she opened her back door and went to stand by the front, lighting the smudge stick with a wooden match. Blowing gently so it only smouldered, she wafted the smoke around her body, before placing it in the shell and using the fan to direct the smoke all over her home, walking slowly around each room, as she softly chanted, “ _ Cleanse and clean and clear the air, nothing bad may settle here.” _

The smoke lingered for a while and she sat in front of her unlit fireplace to meditate, allowing the scent to focus her mind.

The whispers were loud today, yet always just beyond her understanding, but she never tried to reach for them; if it was something important, a message would get through. Often if you stretched yourself to hear what was not intended for you, you may wander for longer than you meant to, or be given a truth that was not yours to hold. 

Nothing good ever came from that.

It was Midna’s gentle purr that settled her back in her body, her large green eyes informed Rey that it was dinner time, and the chill in the air reminded her the back door needed closing.

Shivering slightly, Rey pulled on a jumper and went about feeding herself and Midna, and her body finally relaxed and settled.


	2. Chapter 2

Ad Lucem was on three floors of a Victorian town house, tucked away in the North Laines. On the outside it looked a bit ramshackle, but the black and gold sign always looked elegant. 

Inside, the shop was welcoming and calm, the shelves of books neat and orderly, and the tables and cabinets that contained curios, antiques and other wares were pleasing to the eye.

The top floor of the house was where the owner lived, Lorsan had white hair and a slight stoop but other than that he showed no sign of his considerable age, still as vital and as spry as Rey most days.

The ground floor where the shop entrance was, was dedicated to generic books on the occult, alternative therapies and alternative religions, downstairs in the basement was where the more serious books were, away from children and unsuspecting browsers; this part of the shop was kept shut unless someone requested to go down. The first floor was taken up with everything else, mainly adult and children’s fiction, cookery and gardening books. These items were mostly still related to the things downstairs though, stories of magic, myths or other worlds, holistic gardening or books on foraging and seasonal eating, anything really that fit the ambiance of Ad Lucem.

Rey loved working there, Lorsan had become a good friend and somewhat of a mentor, and his deerhound Brillig was slightly in love with her. The feeling was absolutely mutual. 

The shop itself had a beautiful energy, people would smile as they entered or you’d see them breathe out a sigh and stand a little straighter. 

Of course there were the odd few that disliked the shop, people who felt threatened by it, usually small minded people who assumed anything different had to be wrong or something to do with the ‘devil’, but they were usually easy to deal with, and any negative energy they carried with them, left when they did.

Brillig greeted Rey as soon as she unlocked the front door, a happy grin on his grey face as he rubbed his head against her thigh and wagged his tail madly.

“Mae govannen!” Lorsan called with a smile, as he sat behind the till sipping his morning coffee and gesturing to another mug steaming gently on the desk, “How was the job yesterday?”

Rey shook her head as she pulled off her jacket, putting it and her helmet down in a cubby behind the till, “More complicated than I expected. I’m going back tomorrow - I need to look up a few things downstairs.” Now unencumbered, she grabbed her coffee gratefully and took a sip, “Specifically, Tether-runes.”

“Ah,” Lorsan sighed seriously, “That bad, eh? I’d recommend the Daemonium Runae then, the section titled Vinculum. It’s a bit heavy but I know you don’t like the Siqsa Rirza.”

Rey shivered slightly, remembering yesterday, dipping her hand into her pocket she stroked her white rune stone briefly, “I don’t know how you can even look at Dæmon without feeling ill.”

While Lorsan was a good man and had power of his own, their ideas on some things varied greatly. Personally speaking, Rey thought that absolutely no one should read or speak Dæmon or even own anything relating to that cursed language; only harm ever came from it in her experience and she wouldn’t even say _ siqsa rirza _outloud.

The clear tinckle of the bell above the door interrupted Lorsan before he could reply and they both downed their coffee and went to work.

Most of her morning was spent in the back room on the first floor, sorting through the post which was delivered on Wednesday evenings and usually consisted of several boxes and many parcels of things Lorsan had stumbled upon somewhere on the internet and had probably already forgotten he’d bought.

It was a little like Christmas - many surprises to unwrap, most of them delightful but some were utterly useless or just plain weird. 

She opened the stubborn sash window to let the air in as she worked, humming as she gleefully opened things with flicks of her pocket knife and sorted them into piles before cataloguing them ready for Lorsan to price in the afternoon.

It took most of the morning, and just when she thought she was done, she noticed a small box had fallen behind a curtain.

As her fingers grasped it, a thrum of energy flushed over her skin. Curiously, she slit the tape open, inside the box was a wad of raw cotton, and inside that was another box, this time wooden; more cotton was revealed, wrapped around something that glowed softly and pulsed with pure energy.

Tipping it out into her palm, she pulled the cotton away and found a blue crystal, warm and luminous. In it’s blue depths, she could see a bird, wings spread in flight. 

A soulful vibration spread through her entire being.

This was a Kyber crystal. 

She had no idea where or how Lorsan had got it, but it was hers. She could feel the connection, the way the weight felt right in her hand, belonging.

It would likely cost her an arm and a leg, and probably both her kidneys, but she knew she had to buy it. 

It would be the final stone in her crystal collection, she had six others that had found their way to her over the years, each containing an image of a bird that usually only she could see. That was how you knew a crystal was yours, or perhaps it was they that did the choosing. 

Either way, this was her _ Otsëa _, her Seventh, and it’s addition would strengthen her others and bind them together.

After reluctantly putting it back in it’s box, she tidied up and locked the back room before going downstairs, the box gripped tightly in her hand.

Lorsan was finishing up with a regular, a man Rey couldn’t stand to be near. She didn’t even know why he came into Ad Lucem, his path was set in darkness, but still he came in at least once a week, to peruse the basement room, sometimes buying some of the more dubious curios and books.

“Ahh,” his smile was greasy as he noticed her arrival, his face was as hideous as his heart - one of the downsides of embracing things humans had no cause to touch, “Chori-dijia,” he purred, using siqsa rirza despite knowing she hated it, “You look so well today. When will I have the pleasure of your company? I promised I’d teach you to scry.”

Not bothering to repress her shudder, Rey shook her head, “Mr Snoke, like I’ve said before, it’s not a skill I wish to learn.”

He sighed regretfully, “Such a waste, your fear of balance,” he gracefully gestured with his hands as if they were scales, “Darkness compliments light.”

Her mouth twisted with distaste, “Or just snuffs it out.” With a shiver she remembered those words from yesterday.

Shaking his head, he shot her an infuriatingly indulgent expression, “You will find, with age, comes wisdom. Let me know when you are ready to stop playing and explore your potential.” He smiled at Lorsan who rolled his eyes and shook his head, “You’re wasting your breath, Aleister, as I have told you many times before. Rey doesn’t need anyone’s help, she’s the strongest Curuni that’s been seen in a long time, and you know their path is set only in the Light.”

Another regretful sigh and Snoke shrugged as if to say he had tried and they were just being unreasonable, “Alas,” he smiled again as he gave her a head to toe scan, making revulsion prickle across her skin, “Well, I will leave you two to get on, I’m sure I’ll see you soon.”

He departed, somehow the bell tinkling on his way out sounded ominous. 

Rey glared at Lorsan, “I still can’t believe you even let him in the shop! And you know Brillig hates him too.”

Lorsan shrugged as said deerhound finally appeared from behind the till, and he scritched the dogs ears, “He’s never done anything that would make me bar him Rey, and he is a good customer, and you know he buys a lot of your creations, too.”

Scowling, Rey shook her head, “I hate that he buys my things, I’d much rather go without the money than have him touch something of mine.” 

Lorsan allowed her a spot in the basement to sell the things she’d made or put together. It was a small but useful extra source of income and was handy for practitioners who didn’t have the time or for beginners who needed help or guidance. She also had a small shop on Etsy and sent things all over the world. Especially hagstones; she had a talent for finding the special stones - rocks that have naturally occurring holes in them. They had a variety of purposes and uses for spells and charms, especially for protection, healing and wards. Or they could be simply used as a pendant, so the market for them was fairly large, even if she didn’t sell them for much.

Giving her a gentle smile, Lorsan shook his head, “You cleanse them before you sell them, Rey, he gets nothing of you when he buys them.”

In theory that was true, but she felt uneasy about it all the same. Time to change the subject - this was another topic she and Lorsan didn’t see eye to eye.

“I’ve finished upstairs, so it’s all ready for you,” she brought out the wooden box, which she had hidden from Mr. Snoke’s eager eyes, “I found this.”

Taking the small box delicately, Lorsan opened it and let out a breath, “The Kyber crystal, I had completely forgotten about it!” he tipped it onto his palm, then quirked his eyebrow at her, “Though it would appear it’s already found its home.”

Rey blushed, feeling almost guilty, “Sorry,” she said a little sheepishly and he chuckled.

“Don’t be, it chose well,” he seemed to think a moment then gave her a beautiful smile, “A perfect Seventh for you,” he held his hand out and dropped it onto her open palm.

The feeling of the crystal calmed her as warmth spread up her arm from its touch, “What of the price?”

Pausing to run his hands through his grey beard, Lorsan’s eyes clouded over as he thought, then nodded to himself as Rey anxiously chewed her lip, “The price is threefold,” he informed her solemnly, and Rey braced herself, “Firstly, a bottle of your blackberry cordial,” his expression turned mischievous, “Secondly, a tray of your excellent brownies and thirdly your help in changing internet provider, I can’t work the damn thing out.”

“Lorsan, you can’t be serious! This is a_ Kyber _crystal!”

His eyes still twinkled but he became serious once more, “I know, Rey, but it isn’t mine to sell, not when it has chosen you so completely. No one else would be able to buy it now, you _ know _ that.”

She let out a frustrated breath, she _ did _ know that, but it still seemed utterly mad that he wouldn’t take a proper payment for it. “I would do those things for you even without a crystal, you should _ know _ that.”

Nodding, he just smiled, “I do. Perhaps you will accept it in mind of all those times you have helped me over the years beyond your job description, and I hope, for many more years.”

With a sigh, she settled back on her toes, “Then thank you, and please never hesitate to ask,” she grinned, “Not for at least ten years, I’d guess.”

“Hah! I will hold you to that! Now, I think it’s time for lunch, don’t you?”

*

Although it wasn’t full, the waxing gibbous moon would be enough for Rey to put out her crystals to charge before the exorcism the next day.

After work she dropped by her flat briefly to collect her other crystals, a thrill went through her as she carefully put the velvet bag containing them in her backpack - after this evening she would be able to say her _ Ringorn _, instead of just crystals.

Parking her bike a little down the coast from the city lights, she walked quickly down a little used path that led to the beach. The sun was still in the sky, painting it in reds and purples as it descended into the west. 

After divesting herself of her boots and socks, she rolled her jeans up past her knees. Taking three deep cleansing breaths, she centred herself and put the Kyper crystal with the others in her hands.

The wash of energy bloomed up from her hands, coursing through her body like sweet wine as she watched the Kyber’s light pulse out until it encompassed the other crystals, witnessing in awe as their connection was formed, as they were bound together, into a Ringorn, then lastly, linked to her.

Time was suspended as they joined, images flashed before her eyes too quick to really see as the crystals settled before growing quiet once more.

With a huge grin, she blinked her eyes and looked down at her hands. Although all the crystals still looked the same, she could feel their unity now, the way the circle was finally closed.

Shaking her head a little to clear it, she waded into the sea, letting the cool water lap around her calves as she carefully washed each stone with the naturally salty water in preparation for charging them later.

Once she was done, she carefully dried them on her favourite Eluveitie t-shirt - something of hers that was only hers, then put them back in the velvet bag altogether.

Rather than go straight home, she picked up fish and chips and sat on the cliffs, watching the red sun as it set while the pale moon and venus rose into the clear twilit sky.

Once she was home and had given Midna her dinner along with some flakes of cod from her own meal, Rey put her crystals on the kitchen windowsill where the light of the moon would reach them.

Laying them out on a piece of driftwood, she said their names in the order they had come to her; first came the pale pink Desert Rose, which she had named Protection, Obsidian was next, named Strength, then green Aquamarine, named Healing, followed by shimmery grey Hematite called Wisdom, clear white Selenite as Purification, deep blue Kyanite named Harmony and finally came the light blue Kyber, which she named Force.

It was deeply satisfying and felt like a good omen for her task tomorrow. With that in mind, she settled down on her sofa with the Daemonium Runae which she had borrowed from Lorsan.

It was slow going, it had been written almost two hundred years ago, there was liberal use of latin and while she had a fairly good grip of the dead language, it being combined with the archaic syntax made her brain hurt.

Midna came and sat on the back of her seat just behind Rey’s head, every now and then twitching her tail into Rey’s face or around her neck, keeping her company.

After her third cup of decaf Earl Grey and plugging her phone charger in so she could keep referring to the rune photo, Rey finally found what she was looking for, or at least some of it. 

The runes on Ben Solo’s chest belonged to a group of seven demons named the Knights of Ren, but which of the seven was less clear.. There were various opinions written in the margins or scrawled above the text, but they contradicted one another and only made things more confusing. What was clear, was that they were not grunts, not lower level minions or tricksy opportunists, they had real power and would pose a real danger, to her and to Ben Solo. But that she had known already - their first meeting had made that very clear. 

Sighing to herself, she put the book away and went to her chest. Rooting around she found a piece of driftwood and her whittling knife.

Lighting a charcoal tablet in a stone bowl, she added Myrrh and pine and settled down to carve runes for binding and banishment into the small piece of salt water worn wood as the smoke curled around her. This would be what she used to house the demon after she had brought it out of Ben, it would bind it to the wood so it couldn’t escape and later she would burn it, sending the demon safely back to hell where it belonged.

By the time she went to bed all of her preparations were complete, she had even had time to properly meditate and after settling down under the covers, she fell asleep quickly.

  


Something woke her. It was still dark and a look at her clock showed her 3.33am and she didn’t have to get up till 5.30. 

Yet her eyes were wide open and her body was on alert. After listening carefully for a few moments, she extended her senses out, trying to feel anything out of place, but all was quiet.

Getting up, she checked everywhere just in case she was wrong, but could find nothing physical that could have woken her and if it had been a dream, the details had been forgotten as soon as she opened her eyes. 

Nevertheless _ something _was wrong, she could feel the threat of it in her bones, a powerful presentiment.

Midna appeared at her feet, making her jump slightly before picking her up, cuddling the warm furry body as she stared out of the kitchen window. The little cat only stayed in her arms for a few minutes though, before wriggling to be set down - she appeared to be on edge as well.

As Rey was drinking a glass of water, her phone started ringing in the bedroom.

A feeling like an electric shock zipped up her spine. Something bad had happened, something very, _ very _ bad.

Despite running to her bedroom she answered it as calmly as she could, “Hello?”

“Kira!” it was Leia’s voice, a hoarse whisper muddled with tears and fear, “He, he got free, I don’t know what to do!”

Rey forced her heart to stay steady and her voice to remain as even as possible, “Are you able to leave the house?”

“I haven’t left my room, but I can hear him downstairs!” she was panicking.

“Okay, I need you to go into a room where you can lock yourself in as quietly as you can, then call the police. I will leave now, but I need you try and breath normally, use your amulet to help you. I am coming.”

There was a shuddering exhalation, “Okay, okay. Please hurry!”

“I’ll be with you as soon as I can, now please go and hide, keep your phone on vibrate so if I need to call you, he won’t hear it ring.”

“I will.”

Rey heard another sob before Leia hung up. 

Luckily, everything but her Ringorn was packed, all she had to do was get dressed and she was ready.

Her phone rang as she was zipping up her boots, it was the same number as before and she answered it immediately.

“Kiiiiiiirrrrrrraaaaaaaaaa!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I was super sleepy when I posted the first chapter and I totally forgot to do an authors note thing, oops. Having said that, I can't actually remember what I'd meant to say, thus rendering this note almost completely pointless... this is awkward...  
So, um, here, have another crappy mood board:  

> 
> Also, thank you for reading ♥


	3. Chapter 3

Rey shuddered as her heart stilled in her chest, “Where’s Leia?”

“I had to stop her,  _ Kiiiraaa _ , she was being naughty,” his voice oozed gleeful malice, “She’s nice and quiet now though, she said you were coming to play?”

Swallowing as quietly as she could, Rey asked, “Did you hurt her?”

“Only a little, but I will do more if I get bored waiting for you.”

“I’m on my way.”

The phone went dead.

Dread flushed through her body, Leia could very well be gone, Threepio too. It was possible that this exorcism would be less a freeing of a human and more putting down a demon. Ben Solo’s welfare was now a secondary concern...

_ Ultĭmum. _

She had never had to do one before, but every real exorcist knew they may have to one day: the taking of a human life, because it could not be saved. 

If she didn’t act, the carnage a demon like this could cause could be catastrophic.

Even so, the thought of taking life left her sick, no matter if it was for the greater good, the idea was abhorrent and horrifying. 

But she really had to get her shit together, she must do her duty, she could fall apart later, after this was done. 

Giving herself a shake, she went to her chest and felt at the bottom for the dagger, which up until now had merely been ceremonial. 

It was a Kris, it’s wavy blade made of steel but edged with onyx, with a bone handle decorated with runes she had carved herself and an onyx pommel.

Attaching the sheath to her belt, she put her crystals in her bag and ran out to her bike. On her way over to Tongdean, breaking speed limits and common sense, she called Lorsan. She hated to wake him, but these were dire straits.

“Rey?” his voice was sharp with concern as he answered on the fifth ring.

“I may have to perform a Ultĭmum,” she said without preamble or apology as she leaned dangerously into a corner, “I’m going there now, but if I don’t call you in an hour, you may need to call Maz,” she grimaced, “Or Snoke.”

“Send me the address, I will do a strength spell for you now. I know you can do this, Rey, have courage in your convictions, and walk in the Light,  _ pen-muin _ .” 

He was right, she could do this, she was born to. “Thank you, my friend. I must go, but if there are fatalities…” she swallowed, trying to concentrate on not coming off her bike as she zipped down a narrow side street full of parked cars, “I will need Mr Kaplan to clean up.” 

“I will contact her,” Lorsan said steadily, “Just do what you need to do.”

They both rang off and Rey soon arrived at Alderaan House.

The gates hung open invitingly, but to Rey it looked more like a trap, a lure.

The engine of her bike was loud in the silent street - there was no way he hadn’t heard it, she would have no benefit of surprise, so she rode up the drive saving precious seconds.

The house was in darkness and like the gates, the front door was wide open, no movement visible or sound to hear.

She wasn’t sure what she had been expecting exactly, but it wasn’t this, it was somehow more threatening than if he had been waiting for her.

Dumping her helmet with her bike, she quickly texted Lorsan the address then left her jacket with her bike, taking only what she needed.

Every step towards the empty doorway was reluctant, but she pushed herself, ignoring her body attempting to make her flee and her extra senses picking up on the feeling of utter wrongness, the creeping dread emanating from the unnaturally silent, dark house.

Stepping through that doorway was one of the hardest things she ever had to do, but she did it. Once she was through, she stood a few paces inside for a moment, breathing deeply as she pushed her senses out to try and get a read on where the Knight of Ren was, or if she could detect any sign of life from Leia or Threepio.

There was a flutter of something upstairs, something light amid the swirling darkness that seemed to infest the house root to roof. It was impossible to pinpoint where the Knight may be, but that flutter felt like Leia, and if she could get to her before having to deal with the Knight, perhaps she could save her.

If the Knight was even still here… but that thought was fleeting, she knew he was waiting for her, she could feel it in her bones.

The anticipation in the air was so thick and cloying it could be cut with a knife 

There was no sign of Threepio, but she hadn’t touched him, so it may be that she couldn’t detangle him from everything else.

Stepping lightly and cautiously, she started up the stairs, ears straining for the slightest sound, alert for any other signs to help her get a read on where he was lurking.

_ “Kiiiirrrraaa!” _

She flinched, the whisper seemed to come from just behind her but when she turned, nothing was there, nothing was anywhere near her… yet she could feel phantom fingers stroking her neck.

He was projecting. But he shouldn’t be able to, he didn’t know her true name, neither did Leia, so how was he doing this?

“So glad you came to play, Kiiiirrraaa… or perhaps I should say...  _ Reeeeeeeeeeeeeyyy _ ?”

She gasped in horror, bile scalding her throat, she didn’t mean to, but the shock of him saying her name almost undid her, her stomach roiled and her skin went deathly cold as fear flooded her. 

This changed things.

She had to leave, this was too dangerous now, she would need help… but she was near the top of the stairs and behind her there was the loud  **bang!** of the front door slamming shut.

Her feet started moving before her brain recovered, taking her swiftly to where she thought Leia may be. 

It was the same room they’d had tea in, the moonlight cast enough illumination for her to see Leia sprawled on the floor. Rey frantically shut the door and dragged a chest of drawers away from the wall to act as a barricade, then went to see what could be done for the other woman.

Leia was breathing at least, her pulse thready and thin, but there. Rey moved her so she was in a more comfortable position as she tried calling Lorsan.

But there was no signal, the line just went dead as soon as it dialed, it did so with anyone else she tried calling too.

“Ah, ah, ah,” his voice mocked in her ear, “You only just arrived, you can’t leave so soon, Reeeyyy.”

The door groaned against the chest, she didn’t have long. Emptying her bag, she lit charcoal with shaking hands, put it in her stone dish and added a special incense mix of her own, specifically made for exorcisms.

It had only just started glowing when the chest flew sideways and the door burst open. Rey scrambled to her feet, hand outstretched towards him as she tried to centre herself.

When they had initially met she had noticed that Ben Solo was a large man, but he had been lying down then. The way his body filled the doorway now, made her realise that he was  _ huge _ . He seemed to tower above her, his broad pale shoulders and chest intimidating in the dim light, he had trousers on, but everything else was bare.

He smiled lazily, eyes flashing red in the darkness as he gazed at her, “These machines that run your world are so very obliging,” he took a step towards her and Rey started emptying a bag of salt around her and Leia. He ignored it as if it didn’t matter and carried on talking, his deep voice sending vibrations that seemed to resonate in her lower abdomen. “It seems my host has a knack for finding out information,” he held up his hand, her business card held in his palm, “We found Kiiiirrraaa, and then we found _ you _ ,” he breathed in and grimaced a little as the incense started to fill the air, “Reeeyyy,” his eyes dropped down to where she had just closed the circle of protection around she and Leia, and shook his head, “That won’t save you, little witch,  _ nothing can _ .” 

With a casual flick of his hand, the large window wrenched open as a breeze flowed from him and out, drawing the smoke and its protection with it. 

He crooked his finger, “Come to me, little witch, I want to  _ ruin _ that ripe cunt of yours.”

It felt like her body had been dipped in ice, then set on fire as horror flushed through her and she desperately tried to clear her mind so she could  _ think. _

Distract him, she needed to distract him while she came up with a plan.

“Which Knight of Ren are you?”

He stilled, then cocked his head, an indulgent smirk on his face, “Oh, so you did some homework? Well done,  _ Rey _ , unfortunately for you, it will not save you.”

He took a deep breath in as his eyes flared, then in a deeper voice he issued an unmistakable command, “ _ Sas ri midwan iw tu'iyia tinri wadinti nu doryumi j'us an ki, Rey, tadti' an ki!” _

Rey trembled as her body fought to obey and her mind tried to stop it. The compulsion was so strong, inexorable,  _ impossible _ . She could feel tears streaming down her face as she took first one step, then another. 

This should not be happening, he shouldn’t be able to influence her so much whilst inside the circle, unless she had grossly underestimated the Knights of Ren. 

During her internal struggle he had moved nearer to her, barely a foot away and when she looked up, he was all she could see.

“What was it you said to me when first we met? Ah  _ yes _ ,” his sharp smile was completely inhuman, “The hard way it is.” 

He spread his long arms wide as he spat another line of siqsa rirza,  _ “Sas ri midwan iw ri Kirs iw ri Diyinita iw Ren, tina iw jina'tis, Nu doryumi tu'iyia rokatsa an ki, sas tu'iyia wadinti nu mirji j'us, Rey!” _

And just like that, her ability to struggle fell away, but so did her strength, as if it was her last option to sabotage his command. It did no good, though, she was too close to the edge of the circle, and his arms reached her shoulders as she fell forward and he dragged her out, straight to his chest so she was crushed against his scorching skin and hard body.

Her breath came in gasping pants as his head lowered as he delicately nosed through her hair, breathing in as if he were swallowing down the scent of her skin as she shuddered against him.

“Poor little bird,” he whispered lowly, as one of his hands slipped underneath her hoodie, stroking the skin on her stomach, nails drawing lines of fire in her flesh, “I’ll bet you taste so sweet,” she felt his tongue flicker out, lapping at the skin of her neck over where her pulse hammered, “Yeeeesssss, so sweet and so afraid, but this could all be so easy if you just _ give in _ ,” the fingers on her stomach slide lower till they cupped between her legs, and to her abject horror, she felt an answering heat coil deep inside her, “Just give yourself to me, and you could have  _ everything _ .”

The desire he was somehow eliciting, clouded her mind, an overwhelming state burning through her every vein and with each second she lost herself further. 

He let go of her body and cupped her face in his hands, enclosing her head in a cage of fingers as he tilted it back, “ _ Titsû ati, _ Rey,  _ titsû ati. _ ” 

Her eyes fluttered shut and she felt her defenses completely crumble, lost to his darkness as it wove around her, threaded through her and sucked the Light right out of her.

Lips met hers, hot and ravenous and relentless, and there was no resistance left, just molten desire, a blazing need and she kissed him back, parted her lips to let him in, shuddering for a different reason now as he growled low in his throat.

He nipped at her lips, drawing blood and distantly she knew that she was utterly done for, her blood bound her to him, forming an unbreakable bond.

Some last form of defiance rose up inside her, it was just a spark, the merest flicker, but she bit him back, sucking his ripped bottom lip into her mouth and welcoming the salty, iron tang down her throat.

He snarled, somehow it was filthy and brutal yet thrilling as his hands came up to take clawfuls of her hoodie and just ripped it away from her body.

As the blood hit her stomach, warmth bloomed, a connection, another bond. She could feel him all around her and inside her now. His hungry mouth left her lips and trailed down her throat, every morsel of skin he touched felt as if he set her nerves on fire, the most delicious fever spreading outwards, consuming her.

He was so busy with his mouth and hands, he didn’t notice the flicker inside them, it was so weak as to be barely heard, but a whisper reached Rey, a voice the same as his yet also completely different, lost.

_ “Please.” _

And Rey remembered Ben Solo, and he reminded her of herself, of who and  _ what  _ she was.

Dazedly, but determinedly, she moved her hands down his body, going slowly as she felt every muscle, every sinew, every inch of smooth, delicious skin and struggled not to be distracted by it.

When she reached his waist, one of her hands teased at the waistband of his trousers, while her other slipped around her own waist to where her Kris was sheathed.

He pulled away to look at her, lips sinfully swollen and bloody, triumph shining in his scarlet eyes as one hand gripped her t-shirt and like her hoodie, ripped it away from her body, leaving her in just a simple black bralet. 

A rumbling noise of approval sounded in his chest and shivered over her skin as his gaze swept downwards to where her fingers were stroking just inside his waistband.

“Do it,” he growled, eyes back on her face, intent and commanding.

Curling her fingers around the material, she gripped it tightly and yanked him towards her as her other hand flashed out with the Kris to bury it in his chest, through the runes on his sternum. The blade sank into his flesh and bone like a hot knife through butter. 

It was utterly sickening. 

A screeching howl ripped from his throat as he sank to one knee, scrabbling desperately at the knife embedded in his chest, flesh, hands blistering and smoking where he touched it .

Rey found her voice, yelling the chant as she held onto the blade, anchoring it with the words of the binding. 

_ “Back I cast thee, back I send you,  _

_ Back to the dark lord who owns you,  _

_ I banish you to the deep abyss, _

_ The sway you hold, I now dismiss,  _

_ Leave his flesh and mind and heart, _

_ I now dissolve, remove, your mark.  _

_ I break his bond, I break your chain, _

_ He is free and clear of your domain…” _

As she spoke, she felt her agency increase, her will rising as her hand on the dagger pushed him back, till they fell to the floor, her sprawled on top of him as he writhed beneath her. Stretching out she pressed her palm against his forehead and pushed the rising Light inside her, through her palm and into him.

The resulting scream was earsplitting as vapour steamed off him, the terror in his red eyes hurt her somehow, but she pushed through it. 

She had to finish what she started, or it would all end in ruin. 

Unrelenting, she spoke the last of the spell,

_ “It is now as I decree,  _

_ As I will, so mote it be!” _

His back arched, head tipping back and jaw unhinging as black smoke poured out of his mouth, the shriek that came with it was high and piercing as the smoke rushed past his lips in a steady stream straight into the onyx stone on the Kris’s hilt. 

When there was no smoke left, the sound cut off and the onyx made an audible crack, signalling it was full to capacity.

The body beneath her went limp and lifeless and as she pulled the dagger free, blood started flowing out, covering her shaking fingers as she desperately tried to staunch the bleeding. 

It was a vain endeavour, deep down she knew it, but she couldn't seem to bring herself to stop. 

There was no victory in this exorcism, not with this heavy price.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having a bit of an awkward time breaking this up, so if the end of this chapter seems a bit awkward, sorry!


	4. Chapter 4

Mindlessly, Rey scrabbled in her pockets, tears blurred her vision as she called out for something to aid her, not knowing what, just for something,  _ anything  _ to help. 

It was stupid of her, foolish; she had known the instant she picked up the Kris that if she used it, a life would be lost, but she coudn’t bring herself to accept it.

Something warm but hard entered her hand and without thinking, as if she were being guided by something else, she shoved the thing into the hole in Ben Solo’s chest.

Through her tears she saw the pulsing glow of her Kyber crystal, it was that which was plugging the gap, staunching the blood, though looking at her hands and his body, it didn’t seem likely there was anymore left in him. 

Ben Solo was lifeless.

“Hiro hyn hîdh ab 'wanath,” the blessing was barely intelligible, but she uttered it anyway, her eyes burning from the salt of her tears as she stared down at the man she had killed.

_ Murdered, _ a little voice inside her head whispered,  _ You’re a murderer. _

Leaning forward over his ruined chest, she lightly pressed her lips to his forehead, “Díheno nin.”

The futility of begging a dead man for forgiveness was not lost on her, nor how selfish it was, but she was beyond herself, she felt broken, as if her spirit was split to the bone.

Time passed, she couldn’t move, literally crippled with guilt even though she knew she should get up and tend to Leia, to try and find Threepio and call Lorsan so he knew she had survived. Yet she stayed where she was, sprawled on the bloody chest of the man she had murdered.

It took a while for her to notice through her haze of tears and remorse, that the pulsing glow of the Kyber crystal was growing, it’s warmth increasing at the same time.

Force, she had named it, and now as she sat up and blinked in bewilderment, she watched it change, saw how it knit itself into the tortured flesh that surrounded it, how its magic spread out, running through Ben’s veins. 

She hesitantly touched her fingertips to the crystal, then gasped as she felt it broaden the connection it already had to her, pulling something from her as it did. Through the widened connection she could feel it drawing from the other crystals in her Ringorn; the combined powers of Protection, Strength, Healing, Wisdom, Purification and Harmony united and amplified.

She’d never heard of or read about anything like it, but then she’d never heard of a Ringorn where the Seventh was a Kyber crystal, either.

Yet she couldn’t see the point of knitting together dead flesh;  _ he was dead _ , she wasn’t a necromancer, she hadn’t the talent and resurrection was not found in the Light Path, but…

Something nudged her, encouraged her still trembling hand to reach out and touch his forehead with her left palm, questing with her senses, daring to push them inside his body… and there, despite the impossibility, she felt the merest flutter, the tiniest shimmer of Light… of _ life _ . 

Her heart started beating faster as she reeled inside her head, her shock quickly dissolved though, as she tried to work out what would best help him - even with this miracle nothing was certain, she needed to give him every chance possible.

Inelegantly scrambling off his prone body, Rey frantically went to work. 

First, she turned the light on, blinking for several seconds before she stumbled over to her bag, tipping out the contents and rifling through it for anything that could be of use.

The remaining six crystals of her Ringorn she placed in a circle on his chest, around the Kyber, then she lit a new charcoal tablet, burning her fingers in her haste. Ignoring the pain she added anything that may aid healing and brought the bowl over to sit above his head. The three hagstones she found were placed on his forehead, throat and heart.

Getting up she pulled a blanket and pillow from a bed and covered him up, just leaving his head and chest free, tucking the blanket around anywhere else and placing his head on a pillow.

Finally, she lit seven white candles, (green would have been better but she had only brought white), and laid them out in the shape of a seven pointed star around his body before lighting them with a match.

The flames flickered slightly and she remembered the window was open. After shutting it quietly she went to sit by Ben’s side, placing her hand over the Kyber crystal, lending it her Light, pushing it through her fingers, uncaring that she was almost near collapse…

She lost time, lost all sense of herself other than the need to save the man she had killed. When she came back to herself, it was because she heard sounds, voices, and then Lorsan’s dear, bearded face came into her line of sight, his frown of concern causing his craggy lines to deepen.

“Rey...  _ Pen muin _ ,” his hand gently came to circle the wrist of her left hand, “You need to stop,” Rey just shook her head, not noticing the rise and fall of Ben’s chest, or the steady beat of his heart. Lorsan’s frowned deepened and he looked up at someone else.

“Dear child,” came another voice, tender but firm, “You can let go now, you brought him back.”

With a weary sigh of surrender, Rey allowed Lorsan to pull her hand away. She felt the loss as the connection she’d kept open, finally closed.

It proved too much and she swayed where she sat before hands caught her; they were safe hands, Lorsan and Maz she would trust with her life, and her soul.

She let go.

*****

When she next awoke, hours or days or years later, she was warm, somewhere soft, where nothing smelled of blood and no warnings prickled against her skin.

It was a while before she could open her eyes, so she just lay there, allowing her senses to awaken at their own pace, feeling no sense of urgency.

All her senses bar sight had come back by the time she felt the bed dip under someone's weight, and a warm hand gently brushed strands of hair aside, tucking them carefully behind her ear.

Slowly opening her eyes, she planned on asking Lorsan or Maz or whomever they had asked to keep an eye on her, if she could have some water. But the power of speech, which had barely even arrived, departed as soon as she laid her eyes on the person sitting by her side.

Many different emotions flitted through her mind as she stared up at the man. The first one was fear - almost all her memories of him awake were when he was possessed and she couldn't help shrinking back from him, her hand automatically going to her neck to grip her amulet and hagstone. 

The scent from the amulet calmed her, and she looked at him again. He looked worried and slightly awkward, but whole and his eyes were a soft brown flecked with green, no red sheen. There was no sharpness to his expression now, just nervousness as his pink tongue darted out to lick his lips.

Relief hit her, he was  _ human _ , untainted; wonder, he was alive and ambulatory! Bewilderment, why was he here? Guilt, could he ever forgive her for what she had done to him? And lastly, embarrassment, shyness at having a strange man so close to her, watching her so intently.

The silence stretched until finally she said quietly, “Hi,” or at least she tried, it was more of a raspy whisper that made her cough a little, her throat dry and raw.

A light blush dusted his pale cheeks as he hurriedly reached for a glass of water sitting on the bedside table she hadn’t noticed. 

“Sorry,” he muttered as he held it out to her.

She wasn’t certain what he had to be sorry about, but she left that thought for later and struggled to sit up enough to drink. 

A strong arm aided her, curling under her arm and lifting her like it was nothing, she felt her face flush with warmth and mutely accepted the water, keeping her eyes down as she drank it dry.

There was a pause as she fidgeted with the glass, then he cleared his throat a little, “How are you feeling?”

Rey didn’t know how to answer that, her mind hadn’t really caught up with her body yet, and she would have preferred to be the one to ask questions like,  _ Why are you here?  _ or  _ Where am I?  _ Because these bed sheets were not her own.

“Okay?” it sounded like a question even to herself, “What... about you?”

One of his hands left his lap and she looked up to see him awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck, his eyes looked away from her towards a window with a view she didn’t recognise.

“Me? Err, I’m…” he shook his head, shiny black hair swaying with the movement, then looked back at her, their eyes met and she couldn’t look away, but this time it wasn’t a compulsion. “I’m absolutely fine, somehow… well, apart from having a crystal growing in my chest that is.”

Rey blinked at him, sure she had misheard, “_Growing_ _in your chest?_”

“Yeah,” he sounded slightly embarrassed about it but sat up straighter and lifted up the black t-shirt he was wearing till it bared his chest.

Rey’s eyes did their very best to fall out of their sockets, because there, right in his sternum surrounded by scar tissue and blue veins, was her Kyber crystal, firmly embedded in his chest. It was one of the most bizarre things she had ever seen, yet somehow one of the most beautiful.

Despite the strange beauty, hot tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks, and she looked away, appalled by what she had done to him.

“I am so, so sorry, Ben.” 

There was the slight sound of an exhalation and she closed her eyes, not ready for the condemnation that would be painted across his face.

“Sorry?” he sounded confused, “Why would you be sorry?”

His answer so surprised her that she turned to look at him again, there was no bitterness there, it didn’t make sense. 

“I  _ killed _ you!”

His eyebrows drew down as he vehemently shook his head, “How can you say that? You  _ saved _ me! You banished Kylo Ren and saved my stupid life!”

Rey couldn’t look away from his chest - he seemed to have forgotten he was still holding his t-shirt up. His beautifully chiselled chest was forever marred, this was life changing, she’d made him a freak, “But at what cost? I should have found a better way!”

A large, warm hand carefully drew her chin upwards, so she was looking at his face and not his chest as he dropped his t-shirt, “You don’t seem to understand, Rey. I’m alive and I’m free, having a crystal living in my chest is a small price to pay for that…” he hesitated, eyes serious as he looked at her, she thought they were eyes she could easily get lost in… “But I think you’re the one that will pay the most,” he finished quietly.

Rey frowned, “What? Why? I feel fine, tired, hungry, but I’ll get over it.”

“I’m glad you’re well, but that’s not what I meant,” he glanced away again, once more out of the window, “I’ve spoken to Lorsan a lot while we waited for you to wake up, he says the crystal can’t be removed without killing me.”

Having seen the mess it caused, she wasn’t surprised, she wiped her eyes with the sleeves of her top, “I’m sorry.”

To her surprise, he glared at her, “Stop saying sorry!” he shook his head, expression gentling a little as he continued, “I don’t care about that, my point is this means you can’t have your, err, Ringorn? Thing, without me, and I know you’ll want nothing to do with me after this and I’ve taken something from you which seems to be so significant...”

_ Oh _ .

Oh that hurt… but by the timing, she thought it entirely possible that the Kyber crystal had come to her for this purpose, yet that didn’t stop the ache in her chest.

She smiled, knowing it was sad but unable to give him anything more, “There’s always a price for that kind of magic and as far as I know, I think this is one of the least costly…” she tried to think about what she could do now, whether another Seventh would work, or if she’d have to find a whole new set of crystals. The idea left her too melancholy to think about right then, so instead she brought her attention back to Ben.

“Where’s Lorsan? Where are we?”

Ben blinked as if he’d been deep in thought too, “Oh, err, we’re at your friend Maz’s? They said you needed to be watched. Lorsan is here a lot, though he just popped out… you’ve been asleep for three days.”

Rey gaped, “Three days?!”  _ Holy shit, how was that possible?  _

“Yeah,” he nodded then stood, making her feel very small, “Would you like something to eat? I’ll go get Maz.” 

He quickly exited the room without waiting for her answer, as if he didn’t like looking at her and it made her feel guilty all over again… 

Why was he here though? And what was the odd pain that felt like something behind her solar plexus was being yanked? There was a strange sense of loss mixed in with it, though that was probably just the realisation that she had lost her Seventh and her Ringorn… and probably also hunger and exhaustion; even though she’d apparently been out for three days she still felt drained.

The other six of what had been her Ringorn were laid out on the bedside table, sitting up further she reached out to stroke each one, greeting them as old friends, silently apologising to them over the brevity of their unity and thanking them for their help in saving Ben’s life.

She was fighting tears again when she heard footsteps approach and quickly wiped her eyes again before they arrived.

“Brillig! I will not tell you again!” Lorsan pushed open the bedroom door, Midna on his shoulders looking furious and Brillig dancing around him trying to get to her.

It was so ridiculous Rey found a laugh bubbling out of her.

Lorsan looked up, away from the animals, a smile of relief clear on his face. “Rey!  _ Pen muin _ !” he sighed and shook his head, leaning towards the bed so Midna could hop off his shoulders and trott over to Rey, purring despite Brillig attempting to join them.

Gathering Midna against her chest, Rey closed her eyes briefly and felt her shoulders relax - purring, in her opinion, definitely contained magic... But that strange tugging ache was still there.

Lorsan sat down on the bed, patting Rey’s free hand and sighed, “Never,  _ ever _ , do that to me or yourself, again please.” 

Rey snorted despite herself, “I’ll certainly try,” she replied dryly, but ended with a smile.

The smile faded as she realised she didn’t actually know the fall out… “What of Leia and Threepio? And what of the Kris?”

Lorsan’s face turned sombre, “Leia is making a good recovery, but I am afraid Mr. Threepio was not so lucky.” Brillig gave up trying to get to Midna and rested his shaggy head on Lorsan’s knee.

Taking a few deep breaths, Rey nodded, “How bad?”

“He lost an arm, but will live.”

Rey bit her lip and winced. Lorsan squeezed her hand, “None of that. You probably saved three lives that night, Rey, and banished a Ren,” he paused to shake his head, “ _ The _ Ren, I should say. I wished I had asked you to show me those runes... but I suppose that water is long under the bridge now...” 

“Lor San Tekka put that long face away and go and sit on a chair, the girl needs feeding!” Maz entered bearing a large tray, her huge eyes peering over the edge as she tried to keep the contents out of Brillig’s reach, “ _ Whist! _ You silly beasty! This is not for you!”

Letting Midna go, Rey took the tray from Maz, mouth watering at the sight of pumpkin soup, crusty bread, assorted fruit and a steaming cup of tea.

The tea had priority, holding the mug in both hands she inhaled the scent of Earl Grey before taking a sip. It was the perfect temperature, the one where it is almost too hot to drink but you do it anyway and its wonderful but then it hurts your stomach when it reaches it, but you have no regrets.

Maz fussed about straightening the bed before hopping up to join her, rubbing Midna’s chin whilst studying Rey. 

Being scrutinised by Maz tended to be an uncomfortable experience, but Rey was used to it by now and wasn’t unduly worried by it. 

Maz was her landlady, Lorsan had introduced them when Rey started to work at Ad Lucem and whether by luck or by design, one of Maz’s properties was vacant and the rent was ridiculously cheap. Like Lorsan, Maz became a close friend and mentor.

“Come in or go out boy, hovering is for flies and Apaches!”

That was when Rey noticed Ben in the doorway. His cheeks coloured a little and he shoved his big hands into his pockets, looking awkward and unsure as to which of Maz’s options to go with.

“Please join us, Ben, you are most welcome,” Lorsan offered with an eye roll aimed at Maz.

Rey still didn’t understand why Ben was at Maz’s house at all... she watched as he sloped in, Lorsan was in the Lloyd loom, which was the only chair there, so after a brief moment of indecision, Ben settled onto the end of the four poster bed, concertinaing his long limbs into as small a space as possible.

An odd sense of relief washed through her and the odd tugging disappeared, she decided it had been hunger as she swallowed her soup as quietly as she could while Lorsan and Maz filled her in on what had happened after she lost consciousness.

She was relieved to hear that the Kris had been properly destroyed and that Kylo Ren was back in the abyss, back in Udûn where he and his kind belonged.

The idea that she had been dealing with the Master of the Knights of Ren, left her feeling somewhat shellshocked, or at least even more so than before. Now knew why resisting him had been so difficult.

A blush heated her face as she remembered she had  _ kissed _ him. Kissed a  _ demon _ , and the owner of the body she had kissed was currently sitting on the end of the bed she was in. It was beyond mortifying and she couldn’t tell if Ben had been aware of it at the time, or if he remembered now.

At least Lorsan and Maz didn’t know, she knew Lorsan would be appalled and Maz would never let her live it down. Best to just try and forget that she had succumbed so easily and never let it happen again.

The food and discussion had left her exhausted, Midna was curled up beside her and her purring was making Rey’s eyes droop.

She was vaguely aware of Maz tucking her under the duvet more neatly and Lorsan’s hand patting her shoulder as they took their leave. Of Ben she heard nothing, but the odd tugging sensation returned.

Before she could consider what that meant though, sleep took her. 

*****

When she next woke, it was dark, the house quiet, but something was missing. Trance-like, she got out of bed, following the direction of whatever thread was pulling at her solar plexus.

Maz’s house was quite large and arranged over three floors. She ran small short term residential courses for a variety of disciplines, as well as renting out rooms to visiting fellow practitioners when there were festivals or gatherings.

Being a Gaian, (an Earth witch), Maz slept on the ground floor, so Rey’s wandering wouldn’t wake her.

She was pulled along and found herself standing outside another door, it was shut, but in her sleepy state she didn’t consider that she shouldn’t go inside.

The room was occupied, there was a double bed which she could just see in the darkness, the white sheets contrasting against a head of black hair restlessly shifting on it’s pillow.

Without any hesitation, she stumbled over to the bed, pulled back the duvet and slipped under it. 

The person woke a little, murmured something too low for her to hear before tucking her against a warm chest and curling an arm around her, holding her close.

The tugging sensation dissolved in a wash of warmth and comfort. This felt right, it was where she belonged. 

Sleep swept her away once more. 


	5. Chapter 5

The soft puff of warm breath on her shoulder was what woke her next. She was excessively warm, her limbs heavy and languid and a feeling of thorough contentment suffused her being. So she stayed exactly where she was, not bothering to open her eyes or think about anything other than how good she felt.

Until, that is, a hand, a very big hand, started stroking her side, as someone made a happy sounding hum.

This led her to pay more attention to where she was. She was lying half over someone else, one of her legs hooked over theirs and it felt like her head was on their chest… Rey’s eyes opened wide and she sat up with a startled yip of surprise. 

Ben, for it was Ben she was  _ in bed with _ , gave his own shocked yelp and also sat up, his longish hair stuck up at all angles and his cheeks coloured crimson.

Rey snatched some of the duvet to cover her bare legs, thanking the Light she was at least wearing a vest and panties and Ben grabbed a pillow to cover his lap… he was shirtless.

Rey didn’t know where to look, “I, I, I’m so sorry!” she stammered out, “I must have slept walked!” she had sometimes slept walked as a child but it had been years since the last time. She didn’t think she had been so embarrassed in all her life.

Ben went to say something, coughed, then tried again, “S’okay,” he mumbled awkwardly, looking anywhere but at her. 

Scrambling off the bed, Rey realised she couldn’t take the duvet with her and felt her hot face somehow burn even more - she’d just have to leave as quickly as possible and hope he didn’t look.

But as she reached the door she paused, because that tugging sensation returned. She let go of the door handle and stood for a moment as her brain forgot its discomfiture and started to wonder… when she turned back, Ben’s face was still turned away from her but he was in the same position, bare chest visible.

Stepping hesitantly back to the bed, Rey stopped caring about her state of undress as she followed her gut and  _ that tugging sensation _ , right back to Ben.

He started slightly when she got back on the bed, turning surprised eyes on her, biting his full bottom lip as she reached out a trembling hand and touched the Kyber crystal in his chest.

_ Warmth... welcome... unity... completion.  _

The Kyber was still joined to her Ringorn, Ben Solo was her Seventh.

She fled then. Rey wouldn't describe herself as someone who ran from a difficult situation, but this? This was something her mind could barely even comprehend, let alone deal with.

Midna was still curled up on her own bed and Rey crawled under the covers, cuddling the slightly disgruntled cat against her as her eyes spilled hot tears into soft black fur.

_ What was she going to do? _

Maz arrived a few hours later as Rey stared blankly at the wall, mind numb and quiet. 

“I know you’ve had a difficult few days but it’s time to get up and get going again,” Maz told her firmly as she set a breakfast tray on the side table.

Letting Midna go, Rey struggled to sit up and wiped her eyes then reached straight for the mug of tea.

Maz’s face softened with concern, “Why do you weep, child?”

Rey closed her eyes briefly, “Ben Solo is my Seventh… the Kyber is still connected to the Ringorn,  _ to me _ . What am I going to do?!”

“ _ Do? _ Maz rolled her eyes, “There is nothing you need to do. Why did you think he was here?” she shook her head as if Rey was being particularly slow, “You have looked for belonging for so long, you cannot recognise it when it falls into your lap! The belonging you have always sought is in front of you, with Ben Solo.”

This was not what Rey had been expecting, this was utter madness, “None of it is real, it’s just the crystals!”

Snorting slightly, Maz shook her head as if disappointed, “My dear child,” she hopped up on the bed and patted Rey’s arm as her hands were still clasped around her mug. “You know by now, after all you have seen and done, that this is more than ‘just’ that. The universe has a design and will get you there by hook or by crook. It would seem that boy is your destiny, embrace it, doing anything else will only lead to pain.”

_ Destiny? _ Rey had never been particularly concerned with the concept up until now, she had never felt she had one, other than to use her gifts to help people… yet her gut was now telling her that Maz was right, she felt the truth of her words deep in her bones. 

But she still felt utterly out of her depth.

“Now,” Maz said kindly, “Eat your breakfast and go and sit in the garden, you need to reground yourself.”

Nodding mutely, Rey finished her tea. Maz left and she dutifully ate her breakfast, then raided Maz’s supplies to make a body wash that would cleanse and ground while she showered. The hot water combined with the scents of ylang ylang, vetiver, spruce and sandalwood settled her spirit somewhat, releasing tension she hadn’t realised she held.

When she finally felt clean she dried off and found some of her clothes laid on the bed, along with a warm pottery mug which looked like one of Maz’s famous tisanes. After dressing quickly in jeans, t shirt and hoodie, she wrapped her hands around the mug and breathed in the scent before taking a sip. The tastes of sage, nettle and dandelion sweetened with mānuka made her smile as she drank before quietly making her way downstairs and out into the sunlight.

The fresh air was a blessing and she took off her boots and socks so she could feel the earth with her feet as she tilted her face upwards to soak up the sun.

She could hear the sounds of the city, but tuned those out as she listened to the breeze shake the leaves still remaining on the trees and the birds call to one another, clear songs musical and sweet.

When she felt ready, she whispered, “ _ To the ground, I am bound, see my roots reaching down, feel the weight of the stone, one with Earth, flesh and bone,”  _ repeating it three times.

Midna wound around her legs as she chanted, then disappeared, hopefully not into someone else’s house. 

Time fell away until she felt the tugging inside grow less. Opening her eyes, she turned to find Ben standing a few paces away, hands in his pockets and obviously uncomfortable. 

“I can feel it again,” he said lowly as his eyes darted back and away from her, “The…  _ pull _ to your light…” Rey drew a sharp breath in and he froze, then shook his head, “I’m sorry, I, I just can’t stay away.” He shook his head again, “I should leave, go back home,” he turned away. 

“Don’t go,” the words left her lips before she could think them, but she found didn’t regret them.

Ben stopped, his shoulders tense as he stayed where he was, not leaving but not turning around either.

Wriggling her toes in the earth, Rey tried to decide what she should do, unconsciously chewing her lip. 

Neither of them spoke for a good few moments, then Ben’s back straightened slightly, “Are you sure you don’t want me to go?” his low voice warmed something inside her, “Because I don’t know if I can hold myself back anymore. I can’t fight this…” he shook his head slightly, and finished roughly, “I don’t even want to.”

This was crazy, they didn’t even know each other, just each others names really, but Rey didn’t hesitate, because this felt  _ right _ , “Don’t go.” she repeated softly, a little shyly, but he heard it.

Ben whirled around and strode towards her, although they weren’t red, there was a fire in his eyes. It was wild and intense and she had just a moment to swallow nervously before he reached her.

There was absolutely no hesitation in him, one hand cupped her face and the other curled around the small of her back, pressing her against his body as their lips met.

She had expected him to be reserved, to just hold her or kiss her briefly. There was nothing of that, though. 

He molded her body to his, his soft lips urgent and demanding, claiming hers before his tongue swept inside her mouth, tangling with hers in a heated dance that left her dizzy with desire.

Amid all of that, she could also feel the Kyber in his chest pressed against her, pulsing with their combined energy.

It should frighten her, this ardent embrace, or at least make her uneasy considering the last time their lips had touched he had been possessed by Kylo Ren. But somehow all Rey could think about was Ben, her Seventh, her future.

After a while he groaned a little and broke away from her lips, resting his forehead against hers as they both breathed deeply.

“Was that okay?” he asked, still so close his breath caressed her face as it left him.

Rey let out a slightly shaky laugh, not really certain what to answer, so she simply went with, “Yes.”

Their eyes met, his softening from desire to almost reverence. Her heart did a weird sort of flip in her chest, which was repeated by her stomach. She was hyper aware of all the places their bodies were touching, tingling where his fingers on her back were gently stroking the skin under her t-shirt.

He kissed her again, softly this time, sweetly, and her eyes slid shut, allowing herself to just enjoy the moment.

They had a lot to talk about - much to learn about each other and how this would work and what their connection meant; but for now, Rey just kissed Ben Solo under the sun and the clear blue sky. 

  
  


Neither of them noticed the butterfly fluttering in the shadows cast by a large Belladonna, which still bore a few stubborn flowers, hidden away from the sun. The creature floated on soft wings made of midnight, it’s tiny red multifaceted eyes observing everything. 

Rey was so absorbed by Ben, by his lips, the way he tasted of mint and Earl Grey and felt like home, how warm his fingers were and how his touch made her skin hum and her head spin, that she didn’t feel the presence of their silent watcher.

The butterfly continued it’s scrutiny until the wards guarding the area overwhelmed it, its body crumbling to ash that blew away on the cleansing wind. 

But Kylo Ren had seen all he needed to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo, that’s the end. There may or may not be a sequel. 
> 
> I am so sorry this took so long, had issues, my bad. I know its not very long, but it was meant to be posted the day after the fourth chapter...


End file.
